Though St. Benedict led 20-9 in the first quarter, the Celtics patiently whittled away at the deficit and took their first lead in the fourth quarter. With :34 left in the game, an Alec Scheffler bucket pushed the lead to 4 points.
However, St. Benedict quickly went the other way for an "and one" that cut the deficit to 1 (61-60). A 1-of-2 trip to the line from James McBride left the door open and the Saints took advantage by tying the game with just :05 on the clock.
In OT, both teams had glorious chances. St. Benedict scored the first 5 points of OT to lead 67-62 before George Dumitru scored the Celtics' first basket (67-64) and just :24 to go. St. David then forced a steal, but were unable to convert on an open opportunity --- giving St. Benedict the chance to close this one out.
Alex Douglas led the Saints with 20 points, while Justin Malnerich and Zubair Seyed added 15 each.
Scheffler was certainly the player of the game despite the losing effort, as he certainly notched double-digit rebounds for SDCSS while also pouring home 26 points. Dumitru added 20 more for St. David.
Needless to say, it was a huge win for St. Benedict as they are now 7-1 and two games clear in the loss column of 3rd place St. David (5-3) and 4th place Resurrection (4-3).
Here's a look at the other games from Wednesday:
Mons. Doyle 48, Woodland 28
My Pick: MDCSS by 22
Ryan Stafford continued his strong play for MDCSS, pouring in 17 points as the 'Stangs picked up an important win. Yaser Seyed added 6 for Monsignor Doyle, while Shane Clarke (12) and Neil Dauz (6) led the Woodland scoring.
St. Mary's 55, Rockway 37
My Pick: SMHS by 34
Adham Eleeda (10) and Barnaba Neil (8) led a balanced SMHS attack in this one, while Connor Huxman and Isaac Regier each had 10 points for the Flames.
D8 Junior Standings
1. St. Benedict 7-1 (H2H over SMHS)
2. St. Mary's 7-1
3. St. David 5-3
4. Resurrection 4-3
-----
5. Mons. Doyle 3-5
6. Woodland 1-6
7. Rockway 0-8
Senior
Mons. Doyle 52, Woodland 29
My Pick: MDCSS by 37
Doyle stays alive in the playoff hunt with a solid road win over Woodland. Uzair Khan had 14 and Jamal Bell 8 in the win; Ben Hoekstra led WCHS with 8 points while Steve Wang notched 5.
St. Mary's 67, Rockway 34
My Pick: SMHS by 63
Well, the Eagles certainly were a little nicer to Rockway the second time around. Avery Sutton had a senior career-high 26 points in the win, while Bronson Botehlo added 12. Simon Pudwell (12) and Tyler Schwartzentruber (9) were the top Flame scorers.
St. Benedict 57, St. David 31
My Pick: SBCSS by 12
The Saints received 19 from Tyler Moulton and 12 from Aaron Zammit as they ran away from St. David on Wednesday. Jake Winter led the Celtics with 10.
Senior D8 Standings
1. St. Mary's 8-0
2. St. Benedict 6-2
3. Resurrection 5-2
4. St. David 4-4
-----
5. Mons. Doyle 3-5
6. Rockway 1-7
7. Woodland 0-7
